One appliance that has emerged as a lifesaver in the kitchen is the microwave. This product has transformed the way we cook and have our food. However, we fail to think about the health benefits of the food that has been microwaved!

Here are five reasons why you should NOT microwave your food!

Nonionising radiation: Most of us primarily use the microwave to heat food and to defrost frozen and packaged food. The microwave carries out these processes by releasing a series of heat waves also known as nonionising radiation, which alters the very composition of your food, making it harmful or less than ideal for your system.

High temperatures within a short span of time: When we use the microwave to heat up or defrost or even cook something in a few seconds or minutes, the device emanates an unusually high temperature within that short span of time. The result is that the food experiences a great deal of nutrient loss.

Consuming a toxic meal: When you heat a pre pre-packaged meal or meat and frozen vegetables in the microwave, it mixes with the toxins released by the plastic packaging thanks to the heat waves within the microwave. This can cause harmful effects on your health in the long run, including cardiac disease and abnormal hormonal conditions.

Damage to the Nervous System: Food processed in the microwave can lead to a process called 'shorting out' which alters the electrical impulses in your nervous system and brain. This damage is usually permanent.

Cancerous cell growth: Using the microwave to process your food can lead not only to a loss of nourishment but also to an increase in cancer causing substances in food. When ingested, this food can prove to be dangerous.

I haven't actually been through the references in the other two documents but one seems to rely on single studies and the other makes a lot of reference to studies in the 1970s which was the very early days of microwave ovens.

I did a search on US pubmeds site for articles around the nutritional effects of microwaving compared with other forms of cooking and couldn't find a lot on there - what I did find tended to be around specific foods and effects on nutrient contents of those - it certainly didn't seem to be coming off as the worst from nutritional perspective.

B12 is known to be affected by microwaving - but that is a particularly large and complex molecule - and its biochemistry in the body is also particularly complex. I certainly wouldn't recommend that a microwave oven be used to warm babies milk or food for small infants for this reason.